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Thursday, August 11, 2016

Bagan, the city of ancient Myanmar kings, is the cradle of
Myanmar culture. In Bagan, there are over two thousand pagodas. The ancient
monuments consisting of temples, pagodas, stupas and others religious edifices
are scattered in an area of 43 square kilometers on the plain along the
Ayeyarwaddy River in cultural Myanmar.

Ruins of all sizes, some glorious temples like the Ananda
and the Thatbyinnyu and graceful small pagodas as far as one’s eye can see.
Bagan can boast of its richest archaeological sites in the whole of South East
Asia.

Bagan itself is now only a village at the bend of the
Ayeyarwaddy River. All the remains of the grand palace of King Kyansittha is
now a vacant plot of land. The only feature which remains to show the traces of
glory that was Bagan is the Sarabba Gateway. Nowadays, our government rebuilt
the new grand palace of King Kyansittha near the Sarrabba Gateway.

According to the Myanmar chronicles there were small
national groups and gradually Myanmar appeared. The Myanmar had founded a small
settlement or kingdom of their own supporting and merging with the Pyus.

Myanmar together with the Pyus, Thets and other allied
national groups felt themselves confident to build a fortified city of their
own. Thus, Bagan came into existence at the fork of the Ayeyarwaddy River joint
below its junction with its great tributary, the Chindwin River.

The new kingdom was at first not stable. There were frequent
fights for the throne and changes of dynasties until the King Anawrahta emerged
in 1044 A.D. His father had been forced to abdicate the throne to a usurper
(Sokkate) and became a monk when Anawrahta was only child. When he came of age,
he challenged the usurper to a single combat and killed him near Myinkaba. He
offered the throne to his father. But the father declined.

Anawrahta strengthened his army by selecting and appointing
for great heros (Kyansittha, Ngalone Letphel, Nyaun Oo Phi and Nga Thwe Yue) as
military commanders. The kings and his four warriors led the army by wearing
armour of gold and riding a demon horses. Anawrahta felt dissatisfied with the
existing religion of the people in the kingdom. He did not like a mixture of
Mahayana Buddhism and animism. He resented the enormous power and prestige of
the Ari monks. He considered then depraved. At their juncture Shin Arahan
arrived from Thaton and brought with him pure Buddhism. The ascetic and saintly
person of Shin Arahan was in striking contrast with the Ari monks. Shortly
after his arrival he converted King Anawrahta into Theravada Buddhism. The king
politely requested King Manuha of Thaton for a copy of Theravada Buddhist
Scriptures which he possessed.

The Mon King, Manuha, however, sent back a rude reply. This
led to the resentment of King Anawrahta an made him march towards Thaton
together with his great commanders and mighty army. He besieged the city of
Thaton. After three months of besiege, King Manuha yielded to King Anawrahta.
Anawrahta brought back to Bagan, not only the copy of scriptures, but also
Manuha as captive and also members of his court, monks, scholars, scribes and
artists.

In Myanmar chronicles mention is made of Anawrahta’s
conquest of some neighbouring countries. His principle aim was to unite the geographic
region of Myanmar into a single kingdom and then surrounded it with small
kingdom paying tribute to him. Thus, he was the founder of the first united
Myanmar Kingdom and also the first Myanmar Empire.

In making Buddhism as the national religion of the people of
Anawrahta sought advice from Shin Araham whom he appointed as the primate of
his empire. He was confronted with apposition from the Ari monks and so he
handled it with skill. He come to some compromise with spirit worshippers.
Thus, he was successful in making Buddhism the national religion of his kingdom
became the majority of the people accepted it. As directed by Shin Araham, the
monks went to the villagers, built monasteries and tought the people, not only
religion but also reading and writing.

Some famous temples and pagodas in Bagan are:

Shwezigon Pagoda – Situated at Nyaung Oo, only three
terraces of the pagoda were finished when Anawrahta was killed in 1077 A.D.
King Kyansittha supervised completion of the structure in 1089 A.D.

Arnanda Temple – Built by King Alwungsithu (grandson of
Kyansittha) in about 12th century. It is the tallest structure in
Bagan.

Gawdawpalin Temple – Built by King Navapatisithu.

Gupyaukgyi Temple – Its famous Myazedi is scription was
engraved in two stone pillars, each one featuring on its four faces the same
text in four languages: Pali, Mon, Pyu and Myanmar. This stone inscription
gives the date of ascent to King Kyansittha in 1084 A.D. This temple was
completed by the King’s son, Rajakumara in 1113 A.D.

In addition to Shwezigon Pagoda, King Anawrahta also built
three other prominent pagodas such as Tuywintaung, Tankyitaung and Lawkanander
of which Tankyitaung Pagoda is situated on the hillock on the west bank of the Ayeyarwaddy
River.

Thus, King Anawrahta was the first of the great temple
builders and he made Bagan the center of Theravada learning. He invited
scholars from Sri Lanka, India and the Mon country.

But there are historical record of several earthquakes in
Bagan during the reign of King Narapatisitu (1174-1211 A.D) in 1286, 1298,
1644, 1768, 1774-1775 and 1838 A.D.

The earthquake of 8 July, 1975 was comparatively more severe
leaving only a few monuments totally unharmed.

There is also a Bagan Museum. This interesting small museum
had been shifted about thirty years ago to a new and modernized building along
the road towards the Thiripyitsayar Hotel. It contains a large number of Buddha
Images, Buddhist scriptures and other fine art works.ref; Maung Khine Zaw, The Traveller

Burma has only recently opened its doors to tourism but is
rapidly becoming one of the most exciting places to visit in South East Asia
with stunningly beautiful scenery, fabulous cultural attractions and picture
perfect beaches.

It is ideal for a family holiday as there are a wealth of
activities that the children will love. Spend a day in the jungle learning how
to look after an elephant; ride a ‘long-tail boat’ through the narrow channels
of Inle Lake, watching the unique rowing style of the local fishermen; spend
the night in a rural village giving your kids a wonderful opportunity to play
with local children; join the pilgrims to watch sunset from the magnificent
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the sunlight reflecting of the gilt stupas; hike
into the hills around Pindaya, visiting hill tribe villages and enjoying
stunning mountain scenery and relax in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and
enjoy the idyllic views from Ngapali Beach.

The people are incredibly welcoming and will be delighted to
see you travelling with your family. Walks through the market will take twice
as long as friendly shopkeepers stop you to chat to your children and offer
them sweets or cakes and nothing is too much trouble.

There are a wide selection of excellent hotels, many with
swimming pools, which is invaluable when travelling with your children.

To summarize, if you like the idea of cycling along quiet
roads that criss-cross a plain dotted with thousands of temples, stopping to
admire the view from the terrace of a dilapidated temple whilst the children
run off to explore, then Burma could just be your ideal family holiday!